2010 wisconsin

Previously: The Story 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008. Preview 2011.

Sometimes there's a man... I won't say a hero, 'cause what's a hero? But sometimes there's a man … and I'm talkin' about the Dude here… sometimes there's a man, well, he's the man for his time and place. He fits right in there.

-The Stranger, The Big Lebowksi

I construct the preview every year from the bones of the previous one, and when I took my first stabs at organizing what I was going to say about the secondary I ran across this, because obviously:

How long ago was that? A hundred years.

Joe Paterno was still Penn State's coach, and wonderful. JT Floyd was unable to stay within ten yards of a receiver. Michigan's football program was riven with factionalism. Craig Roh was some sort of linebacker and Kenny Demens was lining up an inch from the nose tackle. Rich Rodriguez had hired Greg Robinson, and this was Greg Robinson burning the world in response.

How long ago was this?

Bathrooms had not yet been invented. Top hats were all the rage. Punting was a good idea. Pterodactyls were the hot new species. It was a long, long time ago, October of 2010. A long time ago.

------------------------------------------------------

It was college, so we did ridiculous things. In my sophomore year one of those was having a fight about who the "real William Carlos Williams" was. William Carlos Williams was obviously the real William Carlos Williams but somehow Kit and Sunil contrived to have a dispute about which one of them really was the real William Carlos Williams anyway. This was settled the way these things always are: with a poetry-off.

We met with great solemnity in Ryan's dorm room. One of us had found a recipe for a drink that supposedly tasted like apple pie. I was still in the phase where changing my state of mind with alcohol was something beneath me and did not partake. I do remember there being whipped cream from a can. It was drinking in a dorm room. Of course there was whipped cream.

Embarrassingly sweet drinks were consumed as the festivities progressed until the poetry-off. Kit and Sunil would be given a topic and asked to compose a poem on that theme in the style of William Carlos Williams. The topic—revealed with the allez cuisine flourish of an Iron Chef ingredient—was red-haired women.

When the allotted minutes had passed and time was called, Kit went first. Kit had prepared. His poem was a mélange of repurposed WCW lines that he'd memorized and crammed together into a surprisingly coherent Frankenstein of a poem.

Sunil was next. He'd had far too much to drink and was showing it. Sitting on Ryan's bed slumped over, he roused himself. He looked down at what he'd written, and started.

"I love red haired bitches
they say 'whatever' and 'like'
how easily we imbibe their terminology
…"

At this juncture Sunil toppled over backward on the bed and said no more. The panel of judges unanimously declared him the Real William Carlos Williams. Sunil celebrated by throwing up into the trash.

-----------------------------

I think about Sunil's poem whenever someone other than Brady Hoke calls the Great Eye of Columbus "Ohio." This is all the time. Kit assembled a frankenpoem from someone's else's mouth; Sunil just said stuff. One of these things stuck. There's an "imbibe this terminology" tag on this blog.

Brady Hoke dropped the "State" from Ohio and drove the Buckeyes to distraction to the point where the program—not just the fans—celebrated the return of "that school up north" like Terrelle Pryor welcoming an auto dealer into his tattoo-artist-sponsored apartment. Hoke dropped "This is Michigan" in his introductory press conference and tacked on the "fergodsakes" that made it immortal. He called last year's outfit Team 132, and now this year's outfit is team 133 and the ridiculous recruiting class that will enroll next year is shooting #team134 hashtags back and forth across twitter.

Hoke didn't seem to mean anything by any of it. He just talked, and though he tried to press-conference it things slipped out sideways. We imbibed them.

That's marketing. The rest is just repetition.

A year ago—or a hundred, whatever, I can't tell anymore—I wrote a story about the 2011 season that focused on how it was a damn good thing that Denard and Mike Martin and Ryan Van Bergen and Kevin Koger were around because I'd been in the stands when they were losing to Purdue and some guy kept screaming "they don't have any HEART" and heard tale after tale of shameful behavior directed at Rich Rodriguez—if you can't recall, he was the head coach at the time—by program alums.

A year later, Brady Hoke has every last Michigan fan marching behind him, not to mention Greg Mattison and a heaping handful of the country's best high school football players. This has just happened, you know? It is of course planned and difficult and meticulousness is required, but on one level Hoke just vacuumed everyone up because he is who he is.

Last February I was in a hotel in Grand Rapids where people had gathered to talk about football. I'm in the very corner of this room and I've got longer hair than any five other people in it put together and a goatee and I look like I do, you know. Like a guy who has trouble crossing borders sometimes. I could have been wearing a sequined dress and heels and not have looked less like a football coach than I did.

Hoke is standing two feet in front of me.

I have this completely insane fear that somehow Hoke will recognize me even though he knows nothing about me. He may not even know what the internet is. But this is an insane fear, remember. I don't want to make eye contact in case he says "you're the one who wrote a post called 'Profiles In Cronyism' about me, and several other uncomplimentary things besides" and this will spur the rest of the room to toss me bodily out of this hotel. But I'm staring at him all the same.

Borges is there, too. He's talking a couple rooms down but has stopped in for a visit. In an hour I'll sneak over to his talk and listen, enraptured, for an hour as he describes Michigan's passing concepts, and feel embittered when he has to stop instead of continuing on for another four. Before he gets into it he'll tell the room that it is great working for "Brady" because he trusts you to do your job, unlike some coaches he's worked under. When he says it, it sounds like he's saying no one will ever leave him, because why would you?

Right now Borges is surveying a room packed from stem to stern for Hoke and making a self-depreciating comment about the lack of people in his much smaller room. Brady grins, and says "Nobody cares about offense, Al. Who cares about offense?" He says it again. He laughs, and is completely at ease as myself and a half-dozen other star-struck folk file this interaction away in our brains. He walks away and we fall into line behind him, like so many others.

Formation notes: Nothing fancy from Michigan. Wisconsin mostly went with the linebacker-over-slot stuff ND and others have run all year. Most of the game they paired this with safeties 6-8 yards off the LOS like so:

Occasionally they would shift into a cover-zero 4-4 look but mostly it was this. On Michigan's final charted drive they went with the slot LB look with their safeties at real safety depth, whereupon Michigan passed all over them. 

Substitution notes: Lewan missed the game so Michigan went back to its earlier configuration with Huyge at LT. The rest of it was as per usual, except Shaw missed the game with a concussion and Smith got the vast bulk of the time as the number one back.

Show:

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M1	1	10	I-form twins	2	1	2	Base 4-3	Run	Iso	Smith	2
Wisconsin LBs aligned to the backside of the play, allowing the backside DE to slant under the block of McColgan. Smith does well just to get a couple yards by picking his way through trash. RPS -1, though perhaps harsh since it's first and ten from the one.
M3	2	8	I-form twins	2	1	2	Base 4-3	Pass	Rollout hitch	Roundtree	14
…but they could have done this so the RPS stands. Michigan rolls the pocket as the two RBs run at the LOS like they're running another iso, sucking linebackers up. Slot safety heads out on the Hemingway hitch outside, leaving Roundtree wide open for the first down. McColgan(-1) got chucked by a DE and Robinson gets some pressure so he has to throw this awkwardly; the resulting pass is on target but inside and takes Roundtree off his feet. Borderline MA/CA, but with the pressure I think it's the latter. (CA, 2, protection 1/2, McColgan -1, RPS +1)
M17	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Zone dive	Smith	7
Eerily similar to the MSU game, where Michigan kept running it right down the throat of an opponent determined to let the backside DE contain on the read. Here he's even standing up with a big blinking sign that says "no scrape here, thanks." Dorrestein(+1) and Omameh(+1) destroy the backside DT, shoving him five yards downfield. This cuts off any LB angles and allows Smith a cutback lane behind the contain DE that he takes for a good chunk. (ZR +1)
RUN+:Omameh, Dorrestein							RUN-:
M24	2	3	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Zone dive	Smith	4
Same thing, same result, backside DE crashes faster and tackles better. Dorrestein gets a ding for not getting push sufficient to get out of the way of Smith as he tries to run past the DE. (ZR+1)
RUN+:Omameh, Dorrestein(0.5)							RUN-:
M28	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Hitch	Hemingway	Inc
Batted into the air as M slides their protection and leaves Smith one on one with a DE. DE forms up, perceiving this is a quick pass, and leaps to bat it. Smith needs to go at this guy's knees so this doesn't happen. (BA, 0, protection 0/2, Smith -2)
M28	2	10	?	?	?	?	?	Run	?	Robinson	1
We miss this play. Hate you director.
M29	3	9	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Scramble	Robinson	6
Protection is fine; Robinson can't find anyone open and ends up running for a gain well short of the first down. Reminder: these get put in TA if they are a clear second option instead of an obvious way to pick up the first. (TA, N/A, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 8 min 1st Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M28	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Post	Stonum	Inc
So like Purdue, Wisconsin's 4-3 alignment has featured safeties 7-8 yards off the LOS with a bias towards charging forward. Michigan goes after it this time around with a play action inverted veer look. Safety 1 sucks up and is dead, safety 2 sucks up and is dead, Stonum gets inside the cornerback and gets yards of separation on a 15-yard post that's either a diving ankle tackle for 20 yards or a touchdown like the Indiana post... Denard overthrows Stonum by five yards. Sad face. (INX, 0, protection 2/2, RPS +3)
M28	2	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Inverted veer keeper	Robinson	4
Aiiigh. Michigan goes with the Cam Newton, and I think Perry Dorrestein(-1) does not get his assignment right. He's blocking down on the playside DT, which is also what Omameh is doing. This allows the MLB to scrape unmolested. The playside DE is headed upfield to contain the handoff so Robinson pulls (ZR+1). Schilling's pulled around and kicks out the OLB, leaving Robinson one on one with that unblocked MLB in a ton of space. With one safety screaming playside to contain Smith and the other headed around the outside Denard is gone--gone--if he gets through the first level. A diving arm tackle succeeds in getting Denard down. Sadface.
RUN+:Omameh							RUN-: Dorrestein
M32	3	6	Shotgun trips	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB draw	Robinson	29
Safety in the box here for a seven-man front. Daring them to throw, except when M runs the QB draw it rips off a big chunk. Go figure. Schilling(+1) gets the key block at the line that gets a DT upfield and opens it up for Robinson. Omameh(+1) set his guy up well, allowing Smith(+1) to take a run at a linebacker not sure which side of the NT the play will go. Molk(+1) gets a block in space against the last linebacker and Robinson doesn't even have to cut until a safety attacks. He dodges the S(+2) and picks up another 15 before someone can run him down from behind when he cuts past the corner.
RUN+:Schilling, Omameh, Smith, Molk, Robinson(2)							RUN-:
O39	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Pass	Bubble screen	Roundtree	3
Linebackers in the box and soft man on the edges for the first time. Michigan attacks it with the bubble. Robinson's throw is behind Roundtree, forcing him to spin around and robbing him of an opportunity to attack the charging safety. (MA, 3, screen)
O36	2	7	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Zone dive	Smith	6
Same thing, other side of the line, with Huyge(+1) and Schilling(+1) doing the honors by blowing the backside DT yards off the LOS and giving Smith an easy six yards. Schilling peeled off the block to kick a charging MLB impressively, otherwise I'd think about knocking these down to halves. Backside DE again crashes to tackle.
RUN+:Huyge, Schilling							RUN-:
O30	3	1	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Run	QB lead draw	Robinson	1
Omameh(-1) gets slanted under by the backside DE, making this a difficult, hairy conversion that Robinson barely makes. Honestly it looks like the spot was a half-yard generous. (RPS -1) Huyge also slanted under so no cutback lane.
O29	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Zone stretch	Smith	7
Backside DE contain; handoff (ZR+1). Wisconsin's playside DT too quick to get sealed and an attempted scoop on the playside DE gets run through. It's cutback time. Molk's block on the DT has driven him off the LOS. Huyge ran at the backside DT and kind of fell down in his general direction, which does not look like an effective block in any way but does force the guy about four yards downfield and opens the lane up further. Smith reads it, hits it, makes contact with the backside DT five yards downfield and gets tackled for six. Wow. So... um. Half points for Smith, Molk, and Huyge? Sure!
RUN+:Smith(0.5), Molk(0.5), Huyge(0.5)							RUN-:
O22	2	3	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB lead draw	Robinson	5
Double by Molk(+0.5) and Omameh(+0.5) drives the playside DT back; he attempts to swim through and Omameh kicks him out of the play. Molk's release is awkward since he's coming from inside the LB, but he pushes the guy past the play and gives Robinson a cutback lane. It's a cutback lane directly into a linebacker but it's good for the first. If M hadn't released oddly because of the swim this could have opened up for more, thus the halves. Smith(+1) got a good pounding block on another LB.
O17	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Pass	Bubble screen	Roundtree	Inc
In front of Roundtree by a yard; it glances off his fingertips. (IN, 0, screen)
O17	2	10	Shotgun empty TE	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB draw	Robinson	4
Offensive line has enough blockers to get Robinson one on one with a safety but it looks like Schilling(-1) loses his guy to the wrong side and forces a cutback; Omameh(+1) got a one on one block with the backside DT that got him on his butt four yards downfield and Robinson runs off that for a decent gain.
O13	3	6	Shotgun empty TE	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Pass	Rollout out	Smith	Inc
Wisconsin goes with an aggressive look and sends six with man behind it. Smith runs an out past the sticks and is open for the first; Robinson sees it and throws it. This would hit any average-sized WR in the facemask but Smith is 5'6 and it glances off his hands. This is like throwing strikes to Eddie Gaedel. I can't give him an IN here, I don't think. (MA, 2, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Missed FG(30), 14 min 2nd Q. So… Robinson threw four passes on this drive, and all of them were IN or MA.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M36	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Inverted veer handoff	Smith	2
So the problem with this play is that Schilling ends up blocking no one on his pull. M leaves the playside DE unblocked, as you do on the veer, and pulls Schilling to the frontside as everyone else blocks down. Dorrestein releases into the MLB. Koger heads outside for the playside safety. This leaves the SLB. Schilling's pull actually has to go around the playside DE--he goes upfield of him, and as a result ends up chasing no one in space as the SLB runs out on Smith. Smith cuts it up, where the DE tackles. It was a correct handoff (ZR+1) with the DE biting inside but the inability of Schilling(-1) to block either guy kills the play. RPS -1.
RUN+:							RUN-: Schilling
M38	2	8	Shotgun trips	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB draw	Robinson	0
Opens up but for Omameh(-2) getting smoked by a DT, which closes off the intended hole and forces Robinson to bounce it outside where Valai has ample time to fill for no gain.
RUN+:							RUN-: Omameh(2)
M38	3	8	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	3-3-5 nickel	Pass	Flare screen	Smith	2
Smith runs out before the snap; Robinson pumps the throw, oddly. He still gets it out and accurate; Smith heads upfield. Roundtree's lost the guy inside but man there's a reason you don't go inside on this one; if Smith(-2) cuts it out he's got acres of space and the first down. He doesn't and Roundtree's guy collapses on him to tackle short of the sticks. (CA, 3, screen)
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-10, 6 min 2nd Q
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M37	1	10	?	?	?	?	?	Pass	Hitch	Hemingway	3
We come to this play with the ball already in the air. Hemingway can't escape from the tackler this time and goes nowhere. (CA, 3, protection 1/1)
M40	2	7	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Slant	Stonum	Inc
Open for the first down, zinged in accurately and on time. Stonum drops the ball. Corner came up to hit him but the ball was already coming out when he arrived. (CA+, 3, protection 1/1)
M40	3	7	Shotgun empty	1	0	4	3-3-5 nickel	Pass	Slant	Hemingway	Inc
Another well timed throw, though this one is a bit low. Hemingway does bring it in briefly, but the Wisconsin DB is right with him and rakes it out as they go to the ground. Nice play. (CA, 1, protection 1/1)
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-17, 3 min 2nd Q. Wisconsin scores, Gallon fumbles the kickoff, and M gets the ball back with 30 seconds left, running two QB draws and not trying to score. Not charted.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M29	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Post	Hemingway	Inc
A play action fake with just one receiver in the route; the same play Michigan tried and missed on with Stonum in the first half. This time the Wisconsin safety doesn't bite entirely--just mostly--and sits down in front of the route. Robinson overthrows Hemingway, which is better than throwing it to the safety. However, Robinson had time to let the play develop with good blocking and if he waits another second or two Hemingway clears the safety and he's got a 15 yard throw that's another hopeful ankle tackle or touchdown. (IN, 0, protection 2/2, RPS +2)
M29	2	10	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Hitch	Stonum	9
Simple hitch against a backed-off corner good for five and then Stonum tacks on a few after the catch by running through the corner's tackle. Refs blow it dead just as Huyge comes up to bang him across the first down line. (CA, 3, protection 1/1)
M38	3	1	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Run	Inside zone	Smith	3
Wisconsin runs a scrape exchange, sending the backside end in and running LBs over the top. Handoff made (ZR+1); Omameh(+1) and Dorrestein(+1) crush the playside DT off the ball and Webb(+1) cuts off the DE, giving Smith a window. He could cut for a big gain but trips coming through the hole.
RUN+:Dorrestein, Webb, Omameh							RUN-: Smith
M41	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Zone read keeper	Robinson	12
This seems like an instant response to the scrape Michigan saw on the last play. They come out in trips with a TE to the other side, which drags LBs to the strong side and the slot LB way outside the hashes. Linebackers suck in on the inside zone fake and the DE crashes so Robinson pulls(ZR+1), finding himself in a ton of space. Rolled up safety is supposed to contain but good luck with that, dude. Robinson falls as he cuts past the guy and that's all that keeps this at 12 yards. RPS+1.
RUN+:Robinson(2)							RUN-:
O47	1	10	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB stretch	Robinson	4
Wisconsin DL sliding down the line well and keeping the holes to a minimum. Molk(+1) does eventually get his helmet across, though and Omameh(+1) drives his man back as Michigan stretches the line; Robinson has a seam. Seam is filled by the safety, who beat Roundtree(-1) and can fill as Robinson threatens the second level.
RUN+:Molk, Omameh							RUN-: Roundtree
O43	2	6	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Zone dive	Hopkins	4
Backside DT finally stands up to the double decently, though he gets pushed back. Schilling comes off on the linebacker coming up the middle and Hopkins cuts behind Huyge into the other MLB, who is unblocked. He falls forward for a few.
RUN+:N/A							RUN-:
O40	3	2	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Inside zone	Smith	0
We get to the play late so I'm not sure why but the playside DE is left unblocked as Dorrestein moves out on someone or another, which lets that guy tackle two yards in the backfield. Certainly looks like a bust on Dorrestein's(-2) part, especially because this is the exact same play they just ran.
RUN+:							RUN-: Dorrestein(2)
O40	4	2	Shotgun 4-wide	1	0	4	Base 4-3	Pass	PA rollout cross	Grady	13
This is the same route pattern from Odoms Way Down In The Hole. Playside slot runs an out, playside WR runs a deep hitch behind it, backside slot comes on a crossing route for a third option. Here the CB goes with the hitch and the playside safety jumps the out, opening Grady up on the cross. Robinson reads it and zings it into the open Grady a second before the safety can get there. Pass was a little behind Grady and the catch was tough-ish with the safety coming. (CA, 2, protection 2/2)
O27	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB lead draw	Robinson	3
Michigan checks, flipping the RB, and Wisconsin checks from a soft-ish base 4-3 to the quasi eight man front they've been running all day. Watt drives through Dorrestein(-1) and forces Robinson to cut behind him, away from the driving double on the playside DT. This robs Omameh of an angle to get a second level block and Robinson runs into a linebacker after a few yards.
RUN+:							RUN-: Dorrestein
O24	2	7	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Stop and go	Stonum	24
Corner bites on the hitch fake but blocks Stonum's path as he attempts to release and gets himself in with a chance. Handfighting down the sidelines gets Stonum open by exactly one step; Robinson sits and fires a gorgeous looping ball over the corner's head and directly into Stonum's hands. Could not be better thrown. (DO+, 3, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 7-24, 11 min 3rd Q
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
O38	1	10	Shotgun 2-back	2	0	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Post	Stonum	34
Play action sucks the safety, who's already seven yards from the LOS, up a step and Stonum's gone. He's got a step or two on the DB; Robinson sees it and sets up to throw. He's getting pressure at his feet because Hopkins(-1) blew his chip on Watt. All he did was knock Huyge upfield and let Watt in. Robinson's throw is a little short, which is fine considering. Stonum then makes the best adjustment of his career by deploying a Manningham-quality move. He slows up, gets his body into the defender, and then releases at the last moment to haul in the over-the shoulder catch just over the outstretched arm of a cornerback he personally prevented from getting the half-yard he needed to break the pass up. Excellent. (CA, 1, protection 1/2, Hopkins -1)
O4	1	G	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	4-3 split	Run	Veer keeper	Robinson	4
Robinson keeps(ZR+1) as he sees the playside DE crash on Smith. M doubled the playside DE, allowing the S to scrape over the top, though, since this is four yards from the endzone. Robinson jukes him, then shoots inside of the befuddled, spinning DE, breaking his tackle and lunging into the endzone, where Dorrestein, Omameh, and the playside DT await.
RUN+:Robinson(2), Omameh, Dorrestein							RUN-:
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 14-24, 9 min 3rd Q
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M43	1	10	Shotgun trips	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Bubble screen	Roundtree	4
There's a linebacker right over the second slot WR who blows him up, forces the play inside, and tackles. Not sure why they're throwing this given UW's alignment. (CA, 3, screen) I guess I can't RPS-1 a four yard gain that Wisconsin had defended perfectly.
M47	2	6	Shotgun trips	1	0	4	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB stretch	Robinson	3
Michigan again can't seal the playside DT but does get the advantage on him as they run down the line. Molk(+1) and Omameh(+1) have two guys moving laterally three yards downfield as Robinson tries to find a hole; Dorrestein(-1) loses his DE to the inside and he tackles from behind. Cost Michigan 2-3 yards there.
50	3	3	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-4	Run	Zone stretch	Smith	3
Linebackers slid heavily to the side of the line with the H-back and Smith, probably in anticipation of a Robinson run. Schilling(+1) delays the backside DT, allowing Huyge to attempt a cut; it's stepped over but does open a cutback. Molk(-1) loses the playside DT and he can tackle from the side as Smith cuts it up. Smith takes a shot from another linebacker and manages to spin for the first down despite having a DT on his back.
RUN+:Smith, Schilling							RUN-: Molk
O47	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Post	Stonum	32
UW corner is lined up with inside position on Stonum but he still gets to the inside. With one safety at LB depth and the other dropping to the other side of the field Stonum's position allows Robinson to toss a ball up about three yards inside the pair; Stonum again keeps the DB on his back and makes a good catch for big yards. (CA, 2, protection 2/2, RPS +1)
O15	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Zone stretch	Smith	4
A similar story to previous stretches: Wisconsin DTs don't get sealed but in doing so give up a lot of ground and Smith runs to the sideline, gaining a chunk of yards but nothing explosive with the playside DT coming through Omameh about four yards downfield.
RUN+:N/A							RUN-:
O11	2	6	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB off tackle	Robinson	11
Michigan blocks down and pulls for the first time. Koger(+1) seals Watt. He gets chucked eventually but it's too late. Molk(+2) obliterates the MLB with a devastating cut. Playside LB and S have to contain, with Schilling(+1) kicking out the playside LB, and Robinson can cruise into the endzone.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 21-31, 3 min 3rd Q
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M28	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Pass	Rollout hitch	Roundtree	16
This is now a staple of the offense: Denard rolls, Roundtree is singled up against a safety ten yards off the LOS, and he runs a ten-yard hitch the opponent can't cover without risking a big play as the linebackers are all in run mode. Easy first down. (CA, 3, protection 1/1, RPS+1)
M44	1	10	Shotgun H-back?	1	1	3	?	Run	Inside zone?	Smith	6
We're looking at John Clay instead of the play. This may have been a veer, actually.
50	2	4	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	Zone stretch	Smith	5
Safeties are now at regular safety depth FWIW. Wisconsin slants hard playside with the backside DT giving ground without engaging, as the Badgers have done most of the game on stretch plays. With the backside DE containing (ZR+1) the hard slant allows Smith a cutback lane. Huyge(+1) engages the DT as he cuts it up.
RUN+:Smith, Huyge							RUN-:
O45	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	PA TE Flat	Webb	9
Corner blitz to the playside is awkward, forcing Denard to pump and loft a touch pass over the guy that Webb leaps for and turns up for a good gain as he beats the UW LB to the sideline. Robinson had just this option and getting this pass with enough loft and getting it in a place where Webb isn't immediately tackled for two yards is impressive. (DO, 2, protection N/A, RPS -1)
O36	2	1	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Pass	Bubble screen	Grady	0
Pass is too far in front of Grady and he ends up lunging forward to catch it, falling for no gain. (IN, 2, screen)
O36	3	1	Shotgun 4-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB lead draw	Robinson	4
With a twist: the running back is Webb. I wonder what's coming? Oh. Watt beats Dorrestein(-1) inside. This happens sometimes but here Dorrestein is driven back, which means Webb can't cut outside and change the angle of his block. He bumps into the pair, sending Watt sprawling. He then bounces off that and does get a block(+1) on the playside LB, which allows Robinson to squeeze out the first.
RUN+:Webb, Robinson							RUN-: Dorrestein
O32	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Pass	PA Hitch	Roundtree	Inc
Wisconsin sends six and doesn't get there, giving Robinson his choice of open targets. Roundtree's open on that same hitch again; Webb has no one within ten yards of him on a flat route. Robinson picks Roundtree, puts it right in his chest, and sees 'Tree drop it. (CA, 3, protection 3/3)
O32	2	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	?	?	Int
Robinson drops to pass and throws; Watt bats it and picks it off. (BA, N/A, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Interception, 21-38, 12 min 4th Q
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	RB	TE	WR	D Form	Type	Play	Player	Yards
M17	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Rollout scramble	Robinson	2
Wisconsin covers both receivers and while Robinson has an opportunity to hit Koger by the time he does he's already decided to run up the sideline. (TA, N/A, protection 1/1)
M19	2	8	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Run	QB down G	Robinson	2
Watt destroys Koger(-2), running through his down block and losing him so quickly that Smith can't adjust; Robinson had a lane inside for decent yardage thanks to some cutbacks on the backside.
RUN+:							RUN-: Koger(2)
M21	3	6	Shotgun trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Post	Roundtree	28
This is a four verticals concept, I think, but run from trips that means Roundtree has to run a post to get to the seam on the far side of the field. UW has just one deep safety and the linebackers get lost, failing to drop back. They've been coached to defend four verts but probably didn't recognize it out of this formation. Roundtree breaks wide open; Robinson hits him with a touch pass that hits him in stride; safety does manage to cut Roundtree's legs out and prevent a TD. (DO, 3, protection 2/2, RPS +1)
M49	1	10	Shotugn trips TE	1	1	3	Nickel 4-3	Pass	Rollout sack	?	-4
Spielman is spending the entirety of this drive bitching about the defense. Michigan rolls the pocket, with Dorrestein(-1) allowing the playside DT to run upfield outside of him without bothering to deal with it. Michigan's routes are all covered on the roll side except maybe Hemingway at the LOS, but that's going to get like three yards. DT comes in on Robinson as he sets to throw; he pulls it down and dodges the guy but takes a hit and falls as he does so. (TA, N/A, protection 0/2, Dorrestein -2)
M45	2	14	Shotgun 4-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Run	QB draw	Robinson	14
Molk is going to double one DT and shove him to Schilling; as he does this the DT moves upfield himself in an attempt to get pass rush. This gets Robinson through the line. Downfield, Koger, Grady, and Molk(+1s all) get great downfield blocks. Robinson runs straight upfield to draw the safety and LB on Grady in, then tries to cut outside past them; safety manages to tackle before he can break it outside and threaten TD.
RUN+:Molk, Grady, Koger, Omameh							RUN-:
O41	1	10	Shotgun 3-wide	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Pass	Hitch	Roundtree	21
All day as the line gets Robinson a fantastic pocket. Wisconsin goes with zone, and unintentionally high-lows the MLB. The line opened up a big running lane for Robinson so the LB is naturally wary of dropping too deep and allowing him to jet, which means he's six yards off the LOS as Roundtree is running a hitch behind him at 15. Robinson sees the opening and hits it; throw is a bit high but not too bad. (CA, 3, protection 3/3)
O20	1	10	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Pass	Yakety sax	?	-8
Michigan going for a bubble when Smith runs by Robinson and knocks the ball out of his hands.
O28	2	18	Shotgun H-back	1	1	3	Base 4-3	Pass	Seam	Roundtree	28
PA fake eliminates LBs in the middle of the field, leaving Roundtree against what must be zone from the slot LB and a safety. Slot LB chucks but leaves a window; Robinson zings it in as Roundtree gets between levels. That's a first down; Roundtree turns it into six by juking the safety and darting upfield before people can tackle him from behind. (CA+, 3, protection 2/2)
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 28-41, 6 min 4th Q. Forcier enters with Michigan down 20 on the next drive. EOG.

DID YOU KNOW I AM A RAVING LUNATIC?

I suspected, surely.

I THINK THE MICHIGAN OFFENSE IS SECRETLY NOT GOOD BECAUSE THE TEAM HAS FALLEN BEHIND IN GAMES AND COULD NOT CATCH UP IN THE SECOND HALF.

Second half and first half points count the same and while I could see some sort of argument that Wisconsin had lightened up on the pressure because they were ahead by so much, they didn't do that. They remained very aggresive until the last drive I charted above, whereupon they backed the safeties off to safety depth… and Roundtree immediately caught three balls for 28, 21, and 28 yards. There's one play in the whole game you can chalk up to Wisconsin having a big lead: a QB draw that worked on Michigan's final TD drive.

BUT THEY DID NOT SCORE ONE MILLION POINTS.

This is true. There are a couple obvious reasons for this. One: Wisconsin grind time and the Gallon fumble limited Michigan to nine drives above. Remember being super excited about everything after the UConn game? That was a 30-point performance on eight real drives with a missed extra point. This was a 28-point performance on nine real drives with a missed 30 yard field goal. The other is in the--

CHART

--charts.

DENARD ROBINSON

Opponent	DO	CA	MA	IN	BR	TA	BA	PR	SCR	ZR	DSR
2009, All Of It	1	7	6(2)	3(1)	4	4	-	-	?	-	44%
UConn	2	15(6)	-	-	3	2	-	-	2	-	68%
Notre Dame	3	25(8)	3(1)	4	1	-	4(1)	2	-	-	71%
UMass	4	10(3)	-	1	1	-	1	1	-	-	73%
BGSU	1	4(1)	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1/1	N/A
Indiana	2	8(2)	1(1)	5(1)	-	-	-	-	-	9/11	66%
Michigan State	4	14(3)	1	7(1)	1	-	-	2	2	N/A	68%
Iowa	1	11(3)	2	3(1)	2	-	1	-	-	3/4	64%
Penn State	3	12(3)	1	4	2	-	1	-	-	6/10	63%
Illinois	4	9(1)	1	4	1	3	1(1)	-	-	3/4	60%
Purdue	2	12(1)	1	3	1	1	1	3	-	8/10	68%
Wisconsin	3	14(2)	2(1)	4(2)	-	2	2	-	-	8/8	71%

TATE FORCIER

Opponent	DO	CA	MA	IN	BR	TA	BA	PR	SCR	ZR	DSR
Iowa	3	14	1	2	4	-	-	1	1	N/A	74%
Illinois	2	11	-	-	2	3	-	-	1	3/4	72%
Purdue	1	-	1	1	1	-	-	-	2	N/A	N/A

Well, maybe not obvious from this chart. But it's in there. Robinson had a bounce back day, completing 64% and averaging almost 10 YPA, but in the first half he racked up almost all of the MA and INs you see above, three of them on screens that may have been open but never had the opportunity to develop. Early his inability to hit Stonum deep allowed Wisconsin to continue pressuring the run game. In the second half he turned those inaccurate passes into complete bombs to Stonum and touchdowns resulted.

The other bit is hidden in this chart with the receivers:

	This Game					Totals
Player	0	1	2	3		0	1	2	3
Stonum	1	1/1	1/1	2/3		9	2/7	7/12	19/19
Odoms	: (	-	-	-		1	1/1	3/4	11/11
Hemingway	1	0/1	-	1/1		8	3/5	4/6	23/27
Stokes	-	-	-	-		-	-	1/2	-
Roundtree	1	-	1/1	6/7		12	2/3	6/9	37/41
Grady	-	-	2/2	-		4	1/1	5/5	8/9
T. Robinson	-	-	-	-		-	0/1	-	2/3
Gallon	-	-	-	-		1	-	-	4/4
Koger	-	-	-	-		-	-	2/3	9/9
Webb	-	-	1/1	-		2	-	1/1	4/5
Smith	-	-	0/1	1/1		3	-	0/3	13/13
Shaw	-	-	-	-		1	0/1	0/1	5/6
McColgan	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	1/1
Hopkins	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-
Toussaint	-	-	-	-		-	-	-	-

A couple of key drops added to the passing game issues in the first half. Consecutive accurate slants hit the ground on one of Michigan's three and outs, one a pure drop by Stonum, the other raked out by the guy on covering Hemingway.

On the other hand, this was probably the best game of Stonum's career. This is some Manningham-level stuff right here:

That ball is short and Stonum knows it so he slows up, uses his body to shield the defender so he can't break it up, then extends to make a great over the shoulder catch. He also did this:

And this:

He's got too long of a track record to dismiss his previous struggles, but hey, I'll take it.

GHLARGERAGERAGGG

PROTECTION METRIC: 31/37, Dorrestein –2, Smith –2, Hopkins –1, McColgan –1.

FLARBALARGALARGALARG

RPS: 10-4 = +6.

GALONGBALUNGGALAAAAARP

A sparse run chart, as Michigan only had about 28 charted:

 

Offensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Huyge	2.5	0	2.5	Run game seemed to tilt the other way.
Lewan	-	-	-	DNP
Schilling	5	2	3
Molk	7	1	6	No reaches but some good blocks otherwise.
Omameh	10.5	3	7.5	Surprisingly the focus of the run game. Executed a lot of grinding double teams.
Khoury	-	-	-	DNP
Dorrestein	4.5	5	-0.5	Pretty meh.
Webb	2	-	2	The usual
Koger	2	2	0	Also the usual.
TOTAL	33.5	23	20.5	Solid blocking day.
Backs
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Robinson	6	-	6	Perfect ZR day, even got a keeper.
Gardner	-	-	-	DNP
Forcier	-	-	-	Not charted.
Shaw	-	-	-	DNP
Smith	3	3.5	-0.5	Missed a cut on a third down conversion, just ok otherwise.
Cox	-	-	-	DNP
Toussaint	-	-	-	Like three snaps.
Hopkins	-	-	-	Did not score.
McColgan	-	-	-	DNP.
Jones	-	-	-	DNP
TOTAL	9	3.5	5.5	Not getting much more than the blockers give them.
Receivers
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Stonum	-	-	-	--
Odoms	-	-	-	--
TRobinson	-	-	-	--
Roundtree	-	1	-1	--
Grady	1	-	1	--
Gallon	-	-	-	--
Hemingway	-	-	-	--
TOTAL	1	1	0	--
Metrics

Michigan averaged 5.2 YPC minus sacks, which is on par with the best performances on the ground against Wisconsin this year but does add in the two first half scrambles that were not charted. Without those that gets knocked down to okay, not great. The tradeoff for the Badgers was giving up 10 YPA in the air.

Heroes?

Stonum, second half Denard.

Goats?

First half Denard.

What does it mean for Ohio State?

Michigan should be able to move the ball but we've seen enough breakdowns over the course of the season to know this offense is not quite at the point where they can expect to run up and down the field against a very good defense. Drops, penalties, inaccurate throws, etc, all conspire to end drives. OSU's had some injury issues, especially at safety, and I'm expecting they'll put up points. Not enough to keep up, obviously.

Formation notes: Michigan had a gameplan and stuck with it, running the stack all day. In certain formations—mostly I—Michigan shaded the linebackers to the strong side and brought a guy up behind, which looked like a 3-4 except your OLB is Ray Vinopal instead of Lamarr Woodley; I called that a 3-4.

An example stack:

Or something, anyway. Michigan lined up Kovacs or Avery to the strong side and had Cam Gordon over the WRs, which is another way in which this isn't much like a stack. If Kovacs is the bandit he should be to the weak side of the formation, AFAIK.

I came out in this formation for most of the second half:

Substitution notes: Michigan platooned the entire line, sending RVB, Martin, and Roh out there as the first team and Banks, Martin, and Black as the second. When Roh went out in the second half Heininger took his snaps. Demens and Mouton went the whole way; Fitzgerald got some run behind Ezeh but not much. Gordon played most of the way at spur but Johnson got approximately three drives. Avery, Rogers, Kovacs, and Vinopal played the whole way except for a couple plays where Talbott replaced Rogers after a hand injury.

On with show:

Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O8	1	10	I-form twins	Base 3-4	Pass	4	PA TE corner	Ezeh	16
Bizarre that Michigan will spend a good chunk of the game backing Cam Gordon out onto the slot receiver and let Ray Vinopal play run D. That's what they do here, with a 3-4-ish formation and Kovacs overhanging to the short side. Tolzien has all day (pressure -2) and finds his TE settling in the space between Ezeh(-1, cover -1) and Kovacs. Ezeh sucked up on the PA fake and was a yard or two away from batting the ball down. Kovacs escorts OOB immediately.
O24	1	10	Ace twins twin TE	Base 3-4	Run		Down G	Ezeh	14
TEs block down on playside DE and SLB. Ezeh(-1) sealed. RVB(-1) sealed. Two blockers on Kovacs and Mouton; Mouton(+1) slams into the pulling G and forces the play back inside, where there's no one since Demens(-2) got slashed to the ground instead of flowing hard down the LOS. Ezeh getting turned and shoved so badly opens the play up. Kovacs(-1) was pancaked easily by the pulling C to the outside. Ball squeezes through the hole and has no one until Avery(+0.5) comes up to make a solid tackle(+1) past the sticks.
O38	1	10	Ace	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Roh	1
End around fake to the run up the middle designed to attack that backside gap where people are freaking out about the end around. Roh(+2) slants underneath the TE and is into the intended running lane. Demens(+0.5) slid past a blocker by hitting a frontside gap hard, but it doesn't really matter since Roh's tackling from behind.
O39	2	9	I-form 3-wide	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	PA Post	?	26
All day (pressure -1) and Tolzien sits back, firing into a gap in the zone about equidistant from literally five Michigan zone defenders. (Cover -2) Caught, first down, etc.
M35	1	10	Ace twin TE	3-3-5 stack	Run		Down G	Mouton	0
Mouton lined up at MLB on this play four yards off the LOS, with Demens to the strongside and Obi weak. Badgers run the same down G play, blocking down on the playside end and LB, in this case Vinopal. Cam Gordon is lined up tight to the playside as well, so he takes on one blocker to the outside. Demens(+0.5) flows down the line to get outside the second blocker, allowing Mouton(+1) to come from the inside and tackle. Mouton was free because of his alignment--here two yards deeper and a yard or so playside compared to the first one--and the inability of the C to release immediately because of traffic in the middle; Black(+0.5) slanted in and impeded his progress. Intentional? Don't know. Results based charting.
M35	2	10	Ace twin TE	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Martin	1
Looks like a designed cutback aimed at the backside; Vinopal rolls up to be the bandit as Michigan shifts strongside, making Ezeh the spur-type-object. Martin(+3) shoves the center back and reads the vertical path of the RB as he approaches the handoff point, cutting back behind the center, swallowing the play by himself.
M34	3	9	Shotgun trips	Okie stack	Pass		Sack	Kovacs	-11
Stack personnel; DL aligned as if it's a 4-3 with Demens lined up as an NT. Shafer used to do this on passing downs. (And third and one!) Zone blitz. Martin and Demens come, then back out; Mouton, Kovacs, and Ezeh come. It works as Kovacs(+2) gets a free run up the middle and sacks Tolzien to end the drive (RPS +2, pressure +2)
Drive Notes: Punt, 0-0, 11 min 1st Q
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	Ace	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Roh	7
Same play Martin swallowed last time. This time Roh(-1) gets washed too far down the LOS and allows a cutback behind him. Fitzgerald(-0.5) is in and the backside LB; he can't get off a block. This allows a big backside lane that Gordon(-0.5) can't cut down because he went with the end-around.
O32	2	3	I-form twins	3-3-5 stack	Run		Iso	Van Bergen	9
Huge cutback lane as RVB(-1) is crushed out of the play on the backside. Demens is again lined up a yard behind his center and has no choice but to take a step playside and get blown up by a guard so when Mouton funnels the play back to him he's busy getting hit by a guy with his arms wrapped behind his back and can't get back. This is *exactly* why the 3-3-5 has MLBs way off the LOS. Here Martin had gotten playside of the C, cutting off the A gap and if allowed to flow Demens could have hit it backside easily. Here he's got a guard in his face after one step. RPS –1. Picture paged.
O41	1	10	I-form	3-3-5 stack	Pass		PA scramble	?	7
Back to the Mouton MLB at reasonable depth thing. Tolzien looks, can't find anyone (cover +1) and then Martin(-1) and Roh(-1) get some vague pressure that forces him to step up. He's got a big lane (pressure -1) and takes it for good yardage. Coverage due to linebackers being three or four yards further off the LOS and able to get deeper?
O48	2	3	Ace twins	Base 3-4	Run		Down G	Patterson	2
Slower developing. Downblock on RVB sees him shoot upfield and vacate a bunch of space as his blocker goes with him. Mouton(+1) comes up to hit the pulling G at the LOS and forces it back inside, where Patterson(+1) has time to get cut, get back up, and tackle as the cut is awkward thanks to Mouton. I'm not sure if RVB's play is good or bad; it did get rid of the trash and allow Patterson to flow but it doesn't seem very sound.
50	3	1	I-form big	3-3-5 stack	Run		Iso	Gordon	4
RVB(+0.5), Martin(+0.5, and Roh(+0.5) and control single blocks and stand up at the LOS ready to tackle in their gaps. Gordon(-2) gets locked outside really easily by a backside TE when he needs to be in the gap behind Roh, Roh gets shoved past the play just barely, and there's a cutback lane for the first down.
M46	1	10	I-form twins	Base 3-4	Run		Iso	Martin	1
Black(+0.5) and Martin(+0.5) slide together and block any possible release for a guard trying to get out on the linebackers. This opens up a backside hole that the RB does not take ; Kovacs may have filled it. Vinopal blitzes and peels the lead blocker, allowing Demens(+0.5) to tackle unmolested.
M45	2	9	I-form twins	3-3-5 stack	Pass		PA deep cross	Fitzgerald	21
Ton of time (pressure -2) this time the WR is wide open (cover -3). On replay it's clear Fitzgerald(-2) blew his drop.
M24	1	10	I-form big	Base 3-4	Run		Power off tackle	Kovacs	4
Michigan should have this dead as Kovacs is in overhang mode. Fitzgerald takes out a lead blocker and Mouton(+1) thumps the pulling G at the LOS, removing any lanes inside and funneling the back right to Kovacs. The Mouton blast has made the hole so small that the back has to slow up as he cuts. Kovacs(-1, tackling -1) tries to take down a guy 50 pounds heavier than him up high instead of taking out his legs and gives up a full 4 YAC.
M20	2	6	Ace twins twin TE	Base 3-4	Run		Down G	Fitzgerald?	19
Fitzgerald(-2) is doing something strange. He steps back and away in an attempt to get outside the downblock. This really does not work; he gets blown off the ball. Mouton(-1) avoids a cut but took an angle too shallow and allows the back outside of him. Fitzgerald is gone; Demens got crushed because the C released free on him instead of dealing with the NT, Patterson. Patterson(-1) has avoided a cut but was slowed by it and then takes a bad pursuit angle that's too aggressive and sees Ball run by him; Demens(-1) also gets a ding for getting so comprehensively owned; he should probably slow up at some point so that this cutback isn't so smooth.
M1	1	G	Goal line	Goal line	Run		Power off tackle	Anderson	1
Michigan actually does a good job defending this play with Quinton Washington(!) getting under the pads of the C and driving him back into the path of a pulling guard. Delays him and allows Tony Anderson(-1, tackling -1) to plug Ball behind the LOS, but this is a walk-on cornerback we're talking about and Ball just goes "I am made of ham" and falls into the endzone.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 0-7, 3 min 1st Q
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O20	1	10	I-form big	3-3-5 stack	Run		Power off tackle	Black	5
They're doing that thing where Mouton is five yards off the LOS as the WLB and the other LBs are super close to the LOS. And the second team DL is in. Black(-1) is destroyed by a single block, giving the TE a really easy angle to block Demens since Demens is close to the LOS and can't avoid the traffic. Ezeh takes on the pulling G and forces the play inside, where Demens shucks his blocker and tackles. Freshman DE against Gabe Carimi. That's life, I guess.
O25	2	5	I-form big	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Patterson	10
Patterson(-2) blown down the line and off the ball by the C. The center gets a tiny bit of guard help but it's more like 'can you get this guy' and since the answer is yes the Gs get free releases. Demens is trying to cut behind Patterson, now mashed three yards downfield, when he gets plowed by a guard. He does what he can, which isn't anything. Ball cuts between the two guys. Vinopal comes up and can't tackle but with people getting blown downfield he's got a tough job. He causes the TB to stumble and Rogers finishes the play. RPS -1; this is a play with one WR and a three-deep umbrella.
O35	1	10	I-form big	3-3-5 stack	Run		Power off tackle	Mouton	3
Banks(-1) crushed back by a double and puts the LBs in a tough spot. Obi(+0.5) is scraping over the top and does a pretty good job of constricting space. Mouton(+1) attacks the Black block, hitting the outside guy before he can release into the second level and driving him back, messing up the other pulling guard's flight path. This allows Demens(+0.5) to scrape through the line without getting clubbed and tackle near the LOS.
O38	2	7	Ace twins twin TE	3-3-5 stack	Run		Down G	Martin	-3
A stunt by Michigan frees Martin. RVB(+1) crashes inside, taking his blocker and smashing into the C who's supposed to deal with Martin. This allows Martin(+1) to run down the line, and since Avery(+1!) was the functional spur on this play and bashed the TE he's in a great spot to force an uncomfortable bounce that Martin swallows. (RPS+2)
O35	3	10	Shotgun H-back	Nickel	Pass	4	Dumpoff	Mouton	10
Four man line with Carvin Johnson hanging out as a linebacker in a middle zone. Black(+0.5) gets enough of a rush to push Tolzien up in the pocket and force a checkdown to the RB (cover +1). Mouton(-1) overruns it and while he can recover to tackle he can't do so before Wisconsin converts.
O45	1	10	Ace	3-3-5 stack	Pass	4	Wheel	Ezeh	24
Vinopal rolls up as an OLB. Why? I don't know. He rushes as others drop off on play action; Tolzien has all day (pressure -3) and can comfortably zing in a wheel route to Kendricks that Obi(-1, cover -1) can't keep up on. Not really his fault, he's just too slow. (RPS -1)
O21	1	10	Ace twins twin TE	Base 3-4	Pass	N/A	Bubble screen	Rogers	1
Kind of an odd playcall as Michigan has Gordon lined up right over the slot. Rogers(+1) attacks the corner trying to block him and ends up running him over. He's prone at the LOS, where he forces Toon to jump over him. Gordon falls over the mess but Toon's elbow hits and he doesn't get a killer gain. Still dodgy.
O20	2	9	Ace twins twin TE	Base 3-4	Pass	N/A	Waggle TE flat	Ezeh	13
Rollout to the two TE side with one guy releasing right downfield into a pass pattern and the other blocking down on RVB to force him inside before releasing into the flat. Ezeh(-1, cover -1) rides the instant release guy downfield and then cannot get out on the edge to cover the flat guy--he can't even get over to tackle on a five yard catch. TE turns it up and it's first and goal.
O7	1	G	I-form big	Base 3-4	Run		Power off tackle	Banks	2
Banks(+1) takes a double and holds at the LOS. He threatens to slant inside and takes both blockers with him. Mouton(+0.5) runs up to the LOS to take on the lead guy and with Martin(+0.5) taking two himself Kovacs and Demens are unblocked and can tackle.
O5	2	G	Ace twins twin TE	Base 3-4	Run		Down G	Mouton	5 (Pen -15)
Mouton(-1) attacks a lead blocker well until he reaches the contact point, where he fails to get outside. All he has to do is turn it up and Demens and or pursuit will take the play out since Demens(+0.5) read and reacted too fast for the releasing G and turned him into a spectator. Touchdown comes back on an irrelevant chop block.
O20	2	G	Shotgun trips	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	Dumpoff	?	7
Coverage(+1) is good deep and Tolzien checks down for a decent chunk. In the situation I think this is fine.
O13	3	G	Shotgun trips	Nickel	Pass	4	Hitch	Rogers
A give-up-and kick since this is a three yard hitch. Guess he didn't like his other options(cover +1). Rogers(+1, tackling +1) is there to shut it down immediately.
Drive Notes: FG(25), 0-10, 8 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O25	1	10	I-form twins	Base 3-4	Pass	4	PA post	Avery?	30
Tolzien gets lit up by Martin(+1, pressure +1) as he throws but gets the ball off on a deep post that's behind Mouton and Demens and in front of Avery. No idea who's responsible this time, but lean towards Mouton or Avery since Demens was well inside of where the ball went. (Cover -3)
M45	1	10	Ace twins twin TE	3-3-5 stack	Pass	3	Hitch	Mouton?	10
Plenty of time (pressure -2) and Tolzien zings one in to Kendricks at the sticks. Mouton with an immediate tackle.
M35	1	10	I-form twins	Base 3-4	Run		Iso	Van Bergen	8
Another massive cutback lane as RVB(-1) is easily kicked out and removed from the play. He ends up pancaked outside the hash. The linebackers flow to the frontside, which just gets Mouton erased by a guard; Kovacs(-1) is in overhang mode and is late to react; Fitzgerald comes from behind to ankle tackle.
M27	2	2	I-form	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Martin	0
Attempted single block of Martin(+1) ends up with the C getting stood up two yards in the backfield. Roh(+1) slanted under a kickout block at first, then that guy gets his position back. He's given up too much ground, though: Roh spins off him and the two DL meet the RB in the backfield.
M27	3	2	I-form big	Base 3-4	Run		Power off tackle	Vinopal	27
Vinopal(-1) is an eighth guy in the box and doesn't react appropriately when he sees the down block. He should shuffle down the LOS and cut the pulling guard to create a pile and bounce the play. Instead he runs into the FB and physics owns him. Carvin Johnson is at spur; he runs unabated from the outside and gets a diving arm tackle attempt on Ball; Ball runs through it. Demens(-1) and Mouton(-0.5) got eaten by blocks and couldn't help despite the slowdown; Demens was closer to the play and didn't read it fast enough to get in the hole; he also loses it to the outside. Two UW guys are now running downfield to pick up Avery, the FS; he gets run out of the play. Rogers(-1, tackling -1) is unblocked and can stop this after about ten; he whiffs.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 0-17, 3 min 2nd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O16	1	10	I-form	3-3-5 stack	Pass	4	PA Dumpoff	Mouton	9
Vinopal sent as the fourth rusher as he was lined up as an OLB. He actually does a decent job to get around the RB and with a little help from Martin pressures Tolzien into a throw. It's a dumpoff to the tailback, but Mouton(-1, cover -1) is so far off the TB can turn upfield and get five YAC. Frustrating when the dumpoffs are almost first downs.
O25	2	1	Ace twins	Base 3-4	Pass	4	PA quick out	Gordon	14
Coverage(+1) good deep and Tolzein has to check down after again being given all kinds of time (pressure -2). This will get the first and a few more until Cam Gordon(-2, tackling -2) gets depressingly run over by Kendricks and gives up ten extra yards.
O39	1	10	Ace twins twin TE	Base 3-4	Run		Down G	Mouton	61
We get like no good camera angles. Mouton(-2) again gets inside a blocker and lets his guy outside. Demens(-2) was thunderously chopped by the center; RVB(-1) and Fitzgerald(-1) were easily sealed by down blocks. Alignment of the LBs was such that this was easy, I think. You're shifted away from the strength of the formation here so if they can downblock our guys on the line you're screwed. RPS -2.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 0-24, 2 min 2nd Q. Gallon fumbles the ensuing kickoff.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
M27	1	10	I-form big	3-3-5 stack	Run		Power off tackle	Banks	5
Banks(-1) crushed and pancaked by a double. Mouton(+1) gets upfield into the pulling G quickly, hitting him at the LOS and getting outside. This picks off both lead blockers. Demens had no chance to scrape because of the Banks pancake, leaving Avery(-0.5, tackling -1), the overhang guy, alone in space; his ankle tackle is run through and Wisconsin grabs five.
M22	2	5	I-form big	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Mouton	3
Patterson(-1) blown off the line, allowing UW to crush Demens, again lined up about a yard off his NT. Mouton(+2) evades his blocker and scrapes past the Patterson mess to meet the RB in the hole, standing him up with help from Demens.
M19	3	2	I-form big	3-3-5 stack	Pass		PA corner	Roger	Int
Good coverage(+2) all around, with Gordon maybe intentionally bashing a TE heading for the flat so Kovacs can get out on him. Tolzien makes a terrible decision to throw to a bracketed WR on a corner route that Rogers(+2) attacks to intercept.
Drive Notes: Interception, 0-24, EOH
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O27	1	10	Ace	3-3-5 stack	Run		Down G	Mouton	4
Michigan late getting aligned and this shot is way removed so it's hard to tell exactly what's going on but this is an adjustment, with Carvin Johnson farther outside. This prevents him from getting down-blocked. The TE can't do much with him and the pulling guards end up neutralized at the LOS. RB has to cut inside. Black shot directly upfield and gave up a big hole but I think that's on purpose since if he gets downblocked he's useless and he might as well terrorize the QB on play action. Michigan will do this most of the half. Mouton(+1) evades a releasing OL, coming upfield of him and flowing down the line to tackle. Pile falls forward.
O31	2	6	I-form twins	Base 3-4	Pass		Rollout scramble	Johnson	2
Seems like a UW bust as they have two WRs within a couple yards of each other and Johnson covering(+1) both. Vinopal charges in and gets uselessly chopped; Demens(+0.5) is out on the edge and shoves Tolzien OOB as he nears the LOS.
O33	3	4	Shotgun trips bunch	3-3-5 stack	Pass		Cross	Demens	6
Zone coverage looks coherent on this play as Mouton gets drawn deep by a vertical release from the single receiver. Avery has a wheel coming out of the backfield. Both are covered, so Tolzien's third option is a drag that Demens correctly diagnoses is his and follows, but follows a step too late. Receiver catches and turns it up for the first down; Demens(+1) and Avery(+1) combine to jar the ball free as he does so. Mouton jumps on it.
Drive Notes: Fumble, 7-24, 9 min 3rd Q. IT'S PEANUT BEAVER JELLY TIME
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
O31	1	10	I-form big	Base 3-4	Pass		Scramble	Mouton	5
Good coverage(+2) forces Tolzien to scramble as he rolls to the sideline, but Mouton(-1) doesn't realize he needs to attack and gives up six yards that could be two.
O36	2	5	I-form big	Base 3-4	Run		Inside zone	Mouton	5
Line and LBs not on same page, as the line slants its way to the left, which is good. There's nothing on the frontside and Martin(+0.5) got a quick attack that got a releasing G off balance so Mouton(-1) is totally unblocked as the RB cuts it back; Demens absorbs the FB heading backside. Mouton hesitates and only gets a weak ankle tackle. I guess you could get on Black for getting pushed down the line too far but here there's one place for the RB to go, no one blocking the LB filling, and they still get five yards.
O41	1	10	I-form big	3-3-5 stack	Run		Power off tackle	Avery	4
Van Bergen(+0.5) takes a momentary double and holds; Demens again close to the LOS and threatens to shoot into the backfield so the interior guy has to peel off quickly. Kovacs(+0.5) sets up well outside. Mouton(+0.5) takes on a pulling G at the LOS and the RB almost trips as there's not much room at all; Avery(-0.5) misses a tackle(-1) and Wisconsin gets a decent gain.
O45	2	6	I-form twins	Base 3-4	Run		Delay	Mouton	14
Martin(+0.5) again absorbs a double long enough to delay the release of the C, so no one is on Mouton. Heininger is slanting inside and gets sealed away, so the play is going outside. Vinopal avoids a cut block but runs upfield; Demens(+0.5) gets outside his blocker and forces the play back into Mouton(-2), who completely whiffs the tackle(-2) and turns like three yards into a big gain.
M41	1	10	I-form twins	3-3-5 stack	Run		Iso	Banks	2
So this is how I think the earlier iso wants to be defended. Line slants playside hard, with Banks(+1) getting under the TE. Tackle released downfield but on the previous play the DE was just sitting outside, not driving down. Patterson(+0.5) gets a good push and stays at the line; Demens plugs a guard in the hole thanks to his position. No holes; Black(+1) swam past the tackle and the two DEs swallow the RB at the LOS.
M39	2	8	Ace twin TE	3-3-5 stack	Run		Down G	Johnson	12
Again Johnson is outside the TE and he has to go downfield to find someone to block, but this time Johnson(-2) kind of hangs out casually on the edge, waiting for the pulling OL to get there. Given the sizes involved he needs to run up and cut the lead guy to the ground, making an ugly pile. Instead he stands up, gets inside the lead guy, and ends up sealed off five yards downfield. Demens charged up between the two guards and got cut by the second but because of the Johnson error it didn't really matter what he did; that could have actually been good. Ezeh's getting out on the edge; he gets pushed past the play via no fault of his own. A note: Black had not accepted the down block this time and was fighting to the ball. Mouton(-0.5) also sucked up oddly, though he recovers to tackle; could have been short of the sticks maybe otherwise.
M27	1	10	I-form big	Base 3-4	Run		Power off tackle	Mouton	4
Well defensed, with Mouton(+1) and Ezeh(+1) attacking and getting to blockers at the LOS; no creases. RVB(-1) had been doubled and tried to fight through it but just ended up getting blown off the line, so momentum allows Wisconsin to lurch forward for a decent gain.
M23	2	6	Ace twins twin TE	3-3-5 stack	Run		Down G	Heininger	23
This is odd and I think Mouton does something fairly right that ends up being terrible. UW blocks down on the one guy they can, RVB, who does the thing where he tries to shoot upfield for play action. Two blockers release downfield to get Demens and Mouton; M is playside of both. Mouton suddenly takes a vertical flight path past one and shoots upfield, where the second pulling guard stops to wall him off. This leaves Demens dealing with two guys; the guy who's supposed to get Kovacs, the overhang guy, has now been removed by Mouton. RB has to cut back as Kovacs attacks, leaving the backside pursuit to run the play down. This is Will Heininger(-2), getting his first action of the year. Heininger is rusty, coming off an injury, and a walk-on. His angle is too close to the LOS and he doesn't have the athleticism to make up for it, diving at the RB's legs and getting his tackle(-1) run through, at which point White is off to the races. Vinopal(-1) is late getting to the POA at the sticks; Heininger did slow him down but no one could get there.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 14-31, 5 min 3rd Q.
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
M45	1	10	Ace twins twin TE	Base 3-4	Run		Down G	Mouton	1
Somewhat similar but Michigan's LBs are not running down the line as far; Mouton is inside this time and again goes upfield of his blocker as Demens heads out. Mouton(+2) swims past the pulling G and tackles for a minimal gain by himself.
M44	2	9	I-form twins	Base 3-4	Run		Iso	?	18
Banks slants inside the G, which I assume is what he's supposed to do. Play ends up going directly outside of him. Vinopal(-1) is blitzing from the outside and just runs way upfield out of the play uselessly, opening up a huge hole. Demens is getting blocked by the tackle and Mouton hangs back because another massive cutback lane has opened with Van Bergen again getting sealed out of the play. Martin can't quite get to the RB to close off the hole. With Mouton seriously delayed Demens(-1) and Martin(-1) get split for a big gain.  RPS –1.
M26	1	10	I-form twins	Base 3-4	Run		Iso	Mouton	1
Good God. RVB shoots upfield immediately outside of the tackle. With Martin slanting playside and Demens headed there too this opens up a cavern for the tailback. Fullback does well to read the jammed up frontside and cut back; Mouton(+3) sets him up inside, gives the back the impression he should cut it out, dodges the FB block, and tackles for a one yard gain. All in a days work. RPS -1.
M25	2	9	I-form big	Base 3-4	Run		Inside zone	Martin	3
Van Bergen is left unblocked and flies upfield as linebackers fill behind him. I'm not sure what he's doing in this game but either he's confused or someone else is because it doesn't make sense. He's upfield, preventing a cutback. Ezeh gets blocked by a guard; Demens is free behind him but has to cut one way or the other; tough. Fortunately, Martin(+1) shoves the center back and the RB trips.
M22	3	6	Ace twins twin TE	3-3-5 stack	Run		Down G	Avery	15
This actually looks like a WVU stack with the MLB six yards deep. This is irrelevant to the play. Mouton(+1) gets playside of a releasing TE and avoids a cut. He's there to absorb a block, so Avery(-2) just has to keep contain and Kovacs can clean up for a FG attempt. He gets obliterated and gives up the corner. Kovacs(-1) has a shot but whiffs a shoulder tackle(-1), and blah blah blah.
M7	1	G	Ace twins twin TE	Base 3-4	Run		Down G	Mouton	4
Same thing. Mouton(+1) gets playside of the TE again and forces an awkward bounce; Kovacs(-1) stops dead for some reason and gives up the corner.
M3	2	G	Goal line	Goal line	Run		Power off tackle	Kovacs	3
Bounced out to Kovacs(-1) and if he was attacking could be a no gain; instead he is slow to react and it is three yards.
Drive Notes: Touchdown, 21-38, 14 min 4th Q
Ln	Dn	Ds	O Form	D Form	Type	Rush	Play	Player	Yards
M40	1	10	Ace big	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Heininger	8
Demens aligned behind Patterson as this line is unbalanced, two yards off the LOS. Patterson(+1) does a good job to get playside of his blocker, forcing a cutback. Demens gets blown up by the guard; Heininger(-1) got scooped on the backside; Ezeh(-1) also is walled off and well out of the play. Cutback lane, yards, etc.
M32	2	2	Ace big	3-3-5 stack	Run		Inside zone	Mouton	2
Patterson(+0.5) stands up his blocker and pushes outside, which cuts off the space between himself and Patterson. Running lane is now further inside and it's filled by Mouton(+1), who darted past the OL assigned to him and doesn't get burned because of the Patterson play. Ball still gets the two he needs.
M30	1	10	I-form big	3-3-5 stack	Run		Power off tackle	Banks	1
Banks(+0.5) takes a double and gets pushed down the line but slowly and doesn't get blown off the ball. Hole is pretty small. Kovacs takes the outside. Mouton(+0.5) turns it inside at the LOS. Ezeh(+0.5) and Demens(+0.5) scrape to the ball, with Ezeh getting a break when UW's OL stumbles as he tries to get out on him. He takes on the last lead blocker and Demens tackles.
M29	2	9	I-form twins	3-3-5 stack	Run		Iso	Kovacs	3
Same story here: DT and Demens both hit the playside A gap hard; Mouton flows, too, leaving a huge cutback lane. Kovacs(+1) fills relatively quickly.
M26	3	6	Ace twins twin TE	3-3-5 stack	Run		Down G	Van Bergen	2
RVB(+1) refuses the down block, getting outside his TE and driving into the second of the pulling linemen. A cutback forced, RB is run down by Heininger from behind and Mouton(+0.5) and Demens(+0.5), who beat blocks.
Drive Notes: FG(42), 21-41, 9 min 4th Q. Wisconsin gets the ball back after an onside kick and goes down and scores but with the ball, six minutes, and a thirteen point lead it's academic. Not charted.

Why did you do this?

I have responsibilities to people!

Seriously, there is something wrong with you.

I stopped before the last touchdown drive, at least. That was theoretically important still.

No it wasn't since everyone on the planet knew they would run and score.

Indeed.

Chart.

Yes, let's.

Chart.

Chart, you'll see this in numbers:

Defensive Line
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Van Bergen	3	6	-3	Did not make many plays; seemed to give up big cutback lanes easily. Maybe an RPS thing.
Martin	8.5	2	6.5	One old-style I destroy this play plus a few more scattered good bits and some half points.
Banks	2	3	-1	Eh.
Heininger	-	3	-3	Eh.
Patterson	3	4	-1	Eh.
Black	2.5	1	1.5	Less of an issue, I guess.
Roh	3.5	2	1.5	Basically one nice play and then not much.
TOTAL	24.5	21	3.5	This is very very bad, especially because the pressure metric is –10 on 15 throws. The DL did virtually nothing.
Linebacker
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Ezeh	2	5	-3	A couple minuses in coverage. Wasn't a huge problem on the ground.
Mouton	19	11	8	Made a lot of very tough plays. Blew some others but I thought he had an excellent day amongst a sea of bleah.
C. Gordon	-	4.5	-4.5	Not involved much and didn't do well when he was.
T. Gordon	-	-	-	DNP
Johnson	-	2	-2	Error on a down G was painful.
Leach	-	-	-	DNP
Moundros	-	-	-	DNP
Demens	6.5	6	0.5	Variety of half points, a couple of instances where he got cut like whoah.
Herron	-	-	-	DNP
Fitzgerald	-	5.5	-5.5	Reason he's behind Ezeh.
TOTAL	27.5	33.5	-6	Nevermind about the linebackers when they don't have to defend passes.
Secondary
Player	+	-	T	Notes
Floyd	-	-	-	DNP
Rogers	4	1	3	INT machine
Kovacs	3.5	6	-2.5	Did not tackle well.
Talbott	-	-	-	Not involved on his few plays.
Christian	-	-	-	DNP.
Avery	2.5	3	-0.5	Maybe should have been harsher on him in overhang mode.
Ray Vinopal	-	3	-3	Questionable deployment.
TOTAL	9	13	-4	Also not so good.
Metrics
Pressure	3	13	-10	Owned.
Coverage	10	12	-2	Scrambles made even the good coverage bad plays.
Tackling	2	10	-8	Pwned.
RPS	4	7	-3	Right.

[RPS is "rock, paper, scissors." Michigan gets a + when they call a play that makes it very easy for them to defend the opponent, like getting a free blitzer. They get a – when they call a play that makes it very difficult for them to defend the opponent, like showing a seven-man blitz and having Penn State get easy touchdowns twice.]

Note that the "Pressure" metric was developed to get a sense for how the defensive line is doing at getting to the QB and most of the responsibility for making it not –10 in 15 throws is on the DL, so that vaguely positive number above should be taken in context. Also the system has traditionally slanted towards the DL and coming out even as a DE is not a good day.

So that's comprehensive.

Yes, it is. What is there to say?

Isn't it my job to ask questions?

What would you like to know?

Is this a reference to "questions" from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern?

Are you suggesting that I am emphasizing the foolish pointlessness of this exercise?

Why, God, why?

You win. Seriously, folks, I'd like to have something new and interesting to say about the defense at this juncture but I don't. I don't really understand what the defense is supposed to be doing, the players can't execute in any case, and the whole thing is such a shambles it's hard to figure out who did something bad on most plays. Like… I can tell what goes wrong here:

Demens doesn't react fast enough to the crossing route to tackle it. Okay, fine, that's tough and it happens to defenses all the time. Good conversion, six yards, okay. Fumble tacked on the end is a bonus for the D but fundamentally they got beat and I know why.

This?

Okay, Will Heininger misses a tackle and takes a bad angle, but even if he tackles it's like five to eight yards. Mouton's all jetting up into the play and Kovacs is slow and I could say that but I saw Wisconsin succeed on this play in five different ways. I'm not really sure what they're trying to do or why it's not working.

Heroes?

Mouton was doing valiant work most of the day. Martin had the best day other than him.

Goats?

Everyone else.

What does it mean for Ohio State?

Super fun times.